AnalysisHouse Bill 1263 assigns Notaries Public a substantive, gatekeeping role in the adoption surrender process. Notaries do not merely take the acknowledgment of a signature; they serve as one of three mandatory, independent certifiers of the out-of-court surrender.
Both the out-of-court surrender of parental rights and the revocation of out-of-court surrender of parental rights are high-stakes notarizations. As with all notarial acts, but even more so with the two here, Notaries must know what they are doing and perform the notarial act competently and free of any conflict of interest. The extensive disqualification list means a Notary must carefully vet their own eligibility before acting to ensure the Notary does not have a conflict of interest. The list goes well beyond what is required for a Notary to recuse themselves for familial and financial interests under Tennessee’s Notary law. An error or omission on the Notary’s part could jeopardize the legality of the surrender or revocation. With the revocation in particular, Notaries must understand the three-day window cannot be modified. While refusals of notarizations always must be handled with the utmost care, refusal to notarize a revocation could have lasting consequences, given the timing. Notaries who do so must have a legal reason not to perform the notarial act.
Other states, including Florida (see F.S. 63.082), Georgia (see O.C.G.A. 19-8-7), and just recently, Hawaii (see House Bill 2088), have similar provisions. Tennessee’s new law is different in several respects: (1) It has the most stringent disqualification requirements for the Notary. (2) It mandates three individuals to provide the certification (attorney, witness, Notary) instead of just the witness and Notary. (3) It requires notarization of both the surrender and revocation.
Read House Bill 1263.